Ode to Joy
by CattyJen
Summary: AU Sasuke is a rock star returning to his home town to find some inspiration but he never expected that his old bandmate Sakura would be his muse. Now if only he can prove to her that he's not a total jerk.


**Hello! Welcome to my totally cliche yet hopefully totally entertaining go at SasuSaku! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

The air tastes the same. It is clean, smelling faintly of burning leaves and fresh paint. There are no gray undertones. No cigarette smoke and no exhaust fumes. It is blue skies here and clouds are shaped like cartoon characters and zoo animals. The only sounds that can be heard are the ones of birds chirping and bees buzzing. No motors or car alarms to break the tranquility of a fresh autumn morning.

The grass is lush and green. A canopy of trees line the sidewalk, the leaves are golden and coppery and a leisurely breeze carries them to the ground. Sasuke Uchiha catches one falling right in front of his eyes. He glances over his shoulder to see if there is anyone watching him before he slips the elm leaf into his pocket for good luck.

It doesn't feel one bit like home.

But he doesn't expect it to. Sasuke doesn't have a home.

His journey ends when climbs the cement steps leading into Konoha High School. The building before him is massive and compiled of red bricks and teenage misery. Sasuke wonders just whose bright idea it was to plant daffodils and pansies along the walkway leading up to the steps. He stifles the urge to stomp on them. How is it that walking into a school full of losers is a more daunting task then walking out onto a stage in front of tens of thousands of people?

The principle's assistant gives Sasuke a schedule and recites to him the school rules. Her demeanor isn't cold but it is wary. Sasuke can't remember the last time he had seen a woman with such an impressive unibrow. She sends him out the door without so much as a 'good luck'.

He wants to give himself some sort of pep talk while walking down the hallway to his first class but his head is empty and his mind is blank. He can't remember any words of wisdom and he certainly can't remember what has possessed him to do this in the first place. For a moment he wonders if black Versace jeans, a grey D&G sweater, and leather Lanvin shoes are what typical high school students wear, but then he remembers that he doesn't give a shit because no one in Konoha knows anything about fashion.

Sasuke takes a deep breath and adjusts the strap of his shoulder bag. He can hear the animated voices and laughter coming from the other side of the door. It's now or never. Without giving himself any more time to talk himself out of it, he closes his hand around the knob and opens the door. He does it with such an air of carelessness that it would have been impossible for any onlookers to see how his arm shook. He steps into the classroom and all mouths abruptly shut and all eyes turn onto him.

"Good morning, Ms. Anko," Sasuke says in a voice devoid of any emotion. "My name is-"

"Sasuke Uchiha," the teacher finishes. She says the name as if it is something vile and distasteful in her mouth. "We all know who you are." She points to a desk in the far corner of the room where no other students are sitting. "You can stay over there."

Sasuke is careful to remain expressionless. He doesn't mind being treated as if he's a leper. He doesn't give a shit what a single person in the room thinks of him. It doesn't matter whether they love him or hate him. They're all morons and he isn't back in Konoha to make friends.

Ms. Anko resumes her lecture before Sasuke can even take his seat. When he is finally situated with his notebook out and pen in hand, the bell rings and the rest of the students rush to pack up and leave. Not a single one of them looks back at him.

This should feel refreshing. When's the last time that Sasuke hasn't been the center of attention? He's been on the cover of dozens of magazines. He's given countless interviews. He has his very own fan club. He can't get a cup of coffee in the city without some tween trying to take his picture with a cell phone. He was living under a microscope with the entire world watching his every move and now he's invisible with no idea how to get to his next class.

He has too much pride to ask anyone for directions and part of him suspects that he would be given misinformation. The people of Konoha have been known to hold a grudge and he doesn't want to try his luck. Apathy is something that Sasuke can handle. Condemnation and detestation are two sentiments he can live without. Though he knows that sooner or later he's bound to get into a confrontation. He has a feeling it's going to be with a certain blond idiot.

The bell rings just as he steps into the classroom. He doesn't bother acknowledging the teacher. There's no point in making a fool out of himself twice. Sasuke just heads to the back corner and carefully sets his bag down on top of the desk and slides into the chair. These stupid desks are uncomfortable to the max and he's sitting right beneath the air vent. His hands and nose are numb from the cold. He wishes he had brought some sort of jacket or had opted for wool instead of cashmere.

Today's lesson is beyond him. He's had very little schooling in the five years that he's been absent from Konoha. There's a good chance that he'll need a tutor. There's only so much that he can teach to himself. His ego is bound to take a blow. The idea of having to ask anyone for help fills him with dread. It's just one another stone to add to the pile already weighing him down. How long until he reaches rock bottom?

He feigns attention to the teacher's ramblings but out of the corner of his eyes he takes inventory of the class. Is it wrong that he hasn't expected any of classmates to change since they were twelve? It's as if he's sitting in a room full of strangers with faces that vaguely resemble the spirits of people from his past.

But then Sasuke blinks and lets his eyes properly focus on the backs of their heads. Maybe they haven't changed so much. Shikamaru is still sleeping. Choji is still eating. Naruto still can't sit still. He is still goofing off. He is still wearing orange. He still has that same idiotic grin on his face.

Sasuke shifts his gaze to the front of the room where Ino and Sakura are passing notes. They have both always been pretty. Sasuke has never denied that. It's just that their personalities had always been so irritating that the two girls couldn't be appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. But Sakura Haruno has her mouth shut and she is more than just pretty now. Though Sasuke is certain that as her beauty has grown so has her capacity to annoy. As if he needs any more incentive to avoid her.

She must feel him watching her because slowly she turns her head and her eyes meet his. Were Sakura's eyes always so green?

And then it hits him. With the force of a stampede, it hits him. Sasuke scrambled to get it all down on paper. It starts with arpeggiated, finger picked guitar chord progression with a chromatic descending baseline. It follows with an aggressive riff and then the bass floods in with a power chord assault. The drum's entry is subtler. It is barely heard over the wailing guitar. The signature changes from 4/4 time to 7/8 and the key goes from G minor to A minor. Then… then…

Nothing. Not a drum roll, not a melody, not a harmony. Nothing. There is silence in Sasuke's mind. Complete and utter silence. He looks up from his notebooks and surveys the classroom. He can't hear Choji chomping on potato chips. He can't hear Ino's giggling or Shikamaru's snoring. The teacher's mouth is moving but there isn't any sound projecting. Sasuke's first instinct is to panic, but then he remembers his secret.

In less than a year, Sasuke Uchiha, celebrated rock star, acclaimed guitarist, revered composer, and teenage heartthrob will be totally deaf.

* * *

Sasuke contemplates climbing up to the roof to do his brooding and eat his lunch but it feels too cliché. The stoop outside the janitor's entrance to the gymnasium was free and secluded from the mass of empty headed, empty stomached, and hormone driven teenagers whose presence nauseated him. Thank heavens that he got the hell out of Konoha before the town had a chance to turn him into one of those animals.

When Orochimaru offered him a way out of Konoha and a leg up into the music industry how was Sasuke supposed to say no? What he had with Naruto and Sakura couldn't really have been called a band. What kind of band is made up of two guitar players and a chick who can' t sing on pitch even if her life depends on it? Had Naruto and Sakura really thought that there was a future in that?

Both Naruto and Sakura had lacked in skill, potential, and maturity. Sasuke had one goal in life and he wasn't going to fulfill it by playing around in Naruto's garage. If Sasuke was going to have a shot at upstaging Itachi he was going to need professional help.

Itachi. Sasuke's blood boils at the name. Itachi is the reason that his parents are dead. The only thing that Itachi cares about is being the best musician. _Musical Excellence_. All that selfish bastard cares about is musical excellence.

If fame is what Itachi cares about then Sasuke had decided that he was going to do everything within his power to outshine Itachi. _Sasuke_ would be the Uchiha that the world remembers.

And Sasuke has gotten his wish. Sasuke and his band, _Hawk_, have gone quadruple platinum on all three albums they have released. Even the Pope is a fan of Sasuke's music. Ironically, the band's breakup has only served to secure them even more fans. And it seems like the more cold and indifferent Sasuke is to his celebrity status the more popular he becomes.

So Itachi may have his concertos and symphonies and the admiration of stuffy old men, but Sasuke has sixty tracks of solid rock songs and hundreds of millions of fans. And Itachi's secret deafness may have forced him into an early retirement, but Sasuke doesn't plan on going down that way. All he needs is a little down time. He needs time to think. He's going to prove once and for all that he is better than Itachi.

"I've been looking all over for you, Sasuke," says a familiar voice from in the doorway effectively snapping him out of his reverie.

"Kakashi," Sasuke answers tonelessly. He looks behind him and stares up at the face of his first mentor. "It's been a long time."

Kakashi smiles. "So you _do_ remember my name. I haven't heard from you once since the night you left. I thought that perhaps you had forgotten my existence entirely."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "I had forgotten how annoying you are."

"I guess I was just feeling a little left out." Kakashi sighs. "You had written an entire album of songs about Konoha and never once alluded to your old teacher."

Well, Kakashi had been one of the few people in Konoha that Sasuke could actually tolerate. Kakashi has actual talent and had taught Sasuke some useful techniques. "Your welcome," he says ironically.

Kakashi smiles again. "You know I am surprised that you actually came back. Your music upset one or two people around here. I didn't know if you would be brave enough to face Konoha after what you said about it in those songs."

Upset one or two people? That was probably the understatement of the century. Sasuke imagines that Naruto had probably punched a hole in a wall after he heard track eight. Sakura had probably cried herself to sleep for a week when she heard track twelve. The whole town had probably been outraged for months over how he had torn apart their nice little community. The entire universe now knows what kind of a twisted place Konoha is.

Sasuke had poured all of his frustration and rage into that first album. His entire life in Konoha had been one giant ball of misery so he turned that into music. And people can relate to that. Inside everyone there is that seed of disdain. Well, Sasuke doesn't have a watering can but he does have a guitar. His music perpetuates darkness and fans love him for it.

"I really don't care what the people of Konoha think or feel." Sasuke says honestly. "If they don't like my music no one is forcing them to listen."

"I see," Kakashi replies quietly.

"So is there a reason you came looking for me?" Sasuke asks. He wants his old teacher to say what he has to say and leave him alone.

"Ah, yes." Kakashi straightens up. "There has been a change in your schedule."

Sasuke raises his eyebrow. "A change?" he repeats.

"Art class," he explains. "You're being moved from art class to music class."

"I'm sorry, did you just say music class?" Sasuke shakes his head. There is _no_ way that that's happening. "I don't want to take a music class."

"You don't get a say in it. The teacher has personally selected you."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke says. "And who's this teacher?"

"Me," Kakashi replies. "You're going to be in my advanced music class."

Sasuke realizes that there is no point in arguing with the man so he settles for simply glaring at him. The school can force him to go to class but not even Kakashi can force him to participate. He wonders how his old teacher would react if he knew about the deafness. Sasuke considers telling him. Kakashi is blind in one eye. He wouldn't pity Sasuke, and pity is the last thing that Sasuke needs.

"Have you talked to Naruto or Sakura?" Kakashi asks after a silent moment. "If you want their forgiveness, I suggest that you start groveling now."

Forgiveness? "Why would I need their forgiveness?" asks Sasuke. "I've done nothing wrong."

Kakashi crosses his arms. "Why are you here? You have the means to live anywhere in the world. You don't have to go to school. And apparently you hate Konoha. So why are you here?"

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "I don't see how it's any of your business."

Kakashi gives him a long searching look. "That's what I thought."

"Meaning?" Why does Kakashi look like he's uncovered some great secret? Sasuke hasn't said a thing to him.

"You don't know why you're here," says Kakashi. "You don't even have a clue."

Sasuke's jaw clenches. Why is Kakashi so skilled at reading people? It's true. Sasuke doesn't know what has possessed him to return to Konoha. Logically, it is the last place that he would want to live. High school should be at the bottom of his to do list.

It's not some story about some washed up rock star getting back to his roots in order to make brilliant comeback. Sasuke is at the height of his game. He has a binder full of songs that are guaranteed to become hit sensations. He has everything a rocker could ever dream of having. Why is he still so unhappy?

Konoha is the root of his problems. Maybe if Sasuke returns to Konoha he'll figure out where everything had gone wrong. Something is missing in Sasuke's life and he suspects that the answer is somewhere in Konoha. When he understands where the emptiness is coming from he'll know how to handle going deaf. He'll write songs that actually mean something.

Maybe Sasuke wants a taste of the life he never had. Maybe he wants that normalcy. Maybe he wants the high school experience. Probably not though. Sasuke thinks about the homework in his bag and grimaces. _Definitely not._

"You should apologize to them," Kakashi says, once again waking Sasuke from his thoughts. "They didn't deserve thosesongs. They're not perfect people but they were good to you."

He must be talking about Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke doesn't have it in him to feel guilty or care of their feelings. He doesn't remember either of them being anything more than an annoyance to him. Sasuke has no desire to apologize and he doesn't plan on doing it either. "They'll get over it."

Kakashi puts a hand up. "Don't misunderstand. They've already gotten over it. I just think that you owe it to them. It might make your transition here more pleasant."

"Thanks for the advice," Sasuke says sarcastically. "I'm already looking forward to music class."

"As am I," says Kakashi. "Don't be late."

Sasuke surprises himself by laughing. For just the briefest of moments he felt a sense of belonging.

And then it is over. Kakashi leaves and Sasuke goes back to brooding. He has a feeling that this was not going to be the end of Kakashi's failed attempts at being his mentor.

* * *

Sasuke stares at the diagram on the paper. He isn't even going to pretend to understand what the arrows and triangles mean. He recognizes a few of the words but for the most part he is in the dark.

Biology will be his downfall. Math he can handle. Lit he can handle. History he can handle. Science… there is just no hope for him in science. He has never had a good grip on science. When is he going to need to know the central catabolic pathways of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle? How does that relate to music?

"Mr. Uchiha," calls the teacher, Ms. Shizune. "Perhaps you would like to explain to us how the TCA cycle creates energy."

Sasuke knows that she's trying to embarrass him. He refused to let any emotion pass over his face. "I'm sorry, Ma'am," he says blankly. "I don know."

The entire class snickers. Shizune smiles and points to the girl sitting in front and center of the rows. "Sakura?"

"In the TCA cycle, a series of eight reactions oxidize acetyl residues to carbon dioxide," explains Sakura. "These oxidation reactions release energy that's captured and used to synthesize ATP. This is the big pay-off in aerobic metabolism. Enough energy is released to synthesize 10–12 molecules of ATP."

Trust Sakura to be a teacher's pet and know-it-all. Everything she says goes in one of Sasuke's ears and out the other.

A crumpled ball of paper lands on Sasuke's desk. Sasuke is well aware that this is some sort of juvenile bullying tactic but he is curious to see just how badly his classmates despise him. He quietly unwrinkles the paper so he can clearly see the message. Someone has drawn an elaborate picture of Sasuke being bludgeoned with a guitar by a group of girls with fangs.

How clever.

Sasuke turns in the direction that the ball had come from and finds a pale, dark haired boy smiling and waving at him. Behind the dark haired boy Naruto has his hands over his mouth obviously attempting to stifle laughter. Sasuke had liked it better when they were ignoring him. It was far less annoying.

He stares up at the clock and sees that there is still a half hour left in the period. With any luck, Naruto won't be in his next class.

Naruto has grown taller, but Sasuke supposes that that is to be expected. He wonders idly if Naruto still plays the guitar. Sasuke remembers that Naruto used to practice for hours until his fingers were a bloody mess.

It never made any sense. Naruto can't read music. He always goofed off during music classes in elementary school. Up until when Kakashi ad brought them together to form their band, _Team Seven_, Sasuke always considered Naruto to be an untalented loser. It soon became apparent that Naruto had a little talent but was still overwhelmingly a loser.

But in the long run none of it matters. Sasuke is a rock star and Naruto is Naruto.

But Sasuke will be damned if he lets Naruto score a higher grade in biology class.

* * *

Sasuke makes it to the music room after his classmates but before Kakashi. He expects to see rows of desks or lab tables like he did in his other classes so he is a little surprised when he is met with the sight of ten chairs arranged in a tight circle. Two of those chairs are empty and Sasuke knows that one of them is for him. Would he rather sit between Choji and Hinata, or Naruto and Sakura? The moment Sasuke's body touches his chair Hinata and Choji turn their heads and scoot their chairs in the opposite directions.

Sasuke closes his eyes and puts is face in his hands. This day can really not end soon enough. What the hell had he been thinking? He's going to go straight home and pack his bags. If he needs some sort of spiritual cleansing he can get a seat on the next flight to Tibet. Konoha is bullshit.

"Earth to Sasuke," Kakashi calls. "Class is starting."

Sasuke sits up and reluctantly opens his eyes. "Wonderful," he mutters. Kakashi isn't nearly late enough for Sasuke's liking. He would much prefer that the teacher didn't arrive at all.

Kakashi smiles. "Now that we have nine students I can assign a project that I've been itching to try since the semester started. You guys are going to love this and I'm going to have all the time in the world to catch up on some reading."

There is a collective groan and Sasuke isn't sure that he likes the sound of this project. He had a suspicion that this was going to be a…

"Group projects," Kakashi says. "It's about time we worked on some teamwork in this class."

It's a miracle that Sasuke doesn't walk out. There is no effing way that he's going to work in any kind of group, especially with any of the losers in his music class. Kakashi must have a screw loose or something. It's either that or he really does hate Sasuke after all.

"Hinata, you'll be working with Kiba and Shino. Shikamaru, you're with Ino and Choji."

"No way!" Naruto exclaims, jumping out of his seat. "That leaves Sasuke-bastard with me and Sakura. Like hell we're working with that scum!"

Sasuke can share that sentiment, though he stays quiet. Emotional outbursts are decidedly uncool. And he doesn't want to be seen agreeing with Naruto on _any_ subject, even if it is their mutual dislike for each other.

Kakashi sighs. "Tough shit. Welcome back, _Team Seven_. It's been a while." He stands up and walks over to Naruto and pushes him back into his chair. "You can either deal with it or fail the class. Understood, Naruto?"

"Fine," Naruto grumbles. "Only if Sakura is okay with it."

"No one says that we have to be nice to him, right?" Sakura asks acrimoniously. She crosses her arms and glares at him with glittering green eyes. "If we're being forced to work with him then we're going to make it as unpleasant for him as possible…"

On the long list of things that annoy Sasuke, people talking about him like he's not in the room is somewhere near the top. But again, he's not going to speak up. Talking about him is still better than talking to him. And Sakura professing her undying hatred for Sasuke is one million times better than her professing her undying love for him. That would just ruin his day.

"What ever happens in your group is your business. As long as you turn the project in at the end up the semester I don't care how miserable you make each other." Kakashi clears his throat. "So now lets talk about what the project actually entails."

Sasuke sincerely hopes that it's not going to be something lame. For every good idea Kakashi has he has ten lame ones to counter it.

Kakashi reaches under his chair and produces a black top hat. "In this hat are the names of the most badass musicians of all time. One person from each group is going to reach into the hat and pick a name. You'll spend the rest of the semester compiling a detailed biography on the musician and writing a tribute piece to be performed in front of the entire town at the Konoha Day Festival. Easy, right?"

Just as Sasuke had expected, complete bullshit.

"So," Kakashi leans in and offers the hat to Shino. "Let's see who you pick."

Shino reaches into the hat and produces a folded scrap of paper. His brow furrows as he reads the name. "Elvis Presley."

Elvis? Sasuke is glad that he's not going to have to write a biography on a loser like Elvis. Sasuke hopes that he'll get someone cool like Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison. A _real_ rockstar.

"Shikamaru?" Kakashi holds out the hat to him.

Shikamaru dips his hand in and picks the paper closest to the top. "Troublesome…" he mutters under his breath as he reads the name.

"Who'd we get?" Ino snatches the paper from his hands. "Iggy Pop?" she whispers. "Iggy Pop, Are you serious? How the hell am I going to present for a skunk like Iggy Pop?"

Sasuke tries hard not to smirk. Which of those three is going to give a shirtless performance? It might make it worth it to stick around if he could see that. It would give him more material to write about the stupidity of Konoha's youth.

Kakashi smiles. "And last but not least, Sasuke."

The black hat lands on Sasuke's lap and the dark haired boy carelessly pulls out one of the folded papers. He looks up for a half second and his eyes meet Naruto's for the first time in years. The blond idiot is waiting with bated breath. Sasuke rolls his eyes. Naruto really needs to get a life. It's just a stupid project. But when Sasuke sees the name on that scrap of paper he feels the blood drain from his face.

"Well…?" Naruto asks exasperatedly. "Kurt Cobain? Jimmy Paige?"

"Beethoven," Sasuke crumples the paper in his fist. "Ludwig van Beethoven."

* * *

**In case you don't know, Beethoven lost his hearing too. The title refers to the lyrics to 9th symphony which he had written after he had stared going deaf. **

**So I've actually started three SasuSaku fics. One of the others is about Sasuke and Sakura going to the same university and Sasuke being a brilliant math student and Sakura a kind hearted nursing student. The other was about Sakura and Sasuke getting stuck sitting on an airplane together. I got farthest along with the plot for this one so I decided I'd post it for the hell of it to see how people would react. **

**So anyone who's read any of my other stories is probably a little surprised. What can I say? I love a challenge. And I'm not exactly going easy on Sasuke. In fact, I'm torturing him aren't I?**

**Also I'm not sure the rules about the present tense. When I write about something that has already happened do I use the past tense or the past perfect tense? I've been using the past perfect tense so if that's wrong somebody give me a heads up and I'll fix it. **

**I haven't actually read and SasuSaku fics so if you've written one and think that it's ballin tell me and I'll check it out! **

**Sooooo let me know what you think and leave a review!**

**Thanks for reading : _)_**


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